 Actress, singer, and activist Aneesh Sheth. By Anya Shukla and Kathryn Lau “I dreamt of a world where Shakespeare and the identities I hold could share space,” said Aneesh Sheth during the introduction to her play, “Much Ado About Nothing.”“Because the opportunity for South Asian trans woman like myself to play Beatrice is nonexistent.”
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By Anya Shukla  “I hope that my music makes someone happy, or makes someone laugh, or lifts someone up when they’re not doing well,” James Fall said, guitar in his lap. At first glance, I characterized Fall as adorably awkward: he’s more laid back than the typical rock star. But while he may not have the classic guitar-god attitude, his passion for music soon became apparent—between questions, his hands almost unconsciously strayed to his instrument.
 Cadex Herrera, along with several other artists, painted the mural above in George Floyd's memory. Photo credit: Cadex Herrera. By Anya Shukla On May 25, 2020, a group of Minneapolis artists—including Xena Goldman, Cadex Herrera, and Greta McLain, among others—created a mural in honor of George Floyd. Their piece has since received extensive publicity from outlets such as CNN to the Former President Barack Obama himself. We were lucky enough to speak to one of the mural’s designers and painters, Cadex Herrera, to learn more about the artwork, as well as the community response to the piece.
By Anya Shukla In 2019, Elisheba Johnson, Inye Wokoma, Jill Freidberg, and Rachel Kessler started Wa Na Wari, a Seattle organization housed in the historically-Black Central District. Located in Wokoma’s grandmother’s home, Wa Na Wari celebrates Black artistry through events, workshops, and art exhibits. I spoke with Elisheba Johnson to learn more about her artistic practice, as well as Wa Na Wari as a whole. Q: How did you first get started in art? A: I started writing poetry in middle school. I wanted to be the Poet Laureate of the United States—which was, you know, like who ever gets that job, but I thought it’d be cool. Other than that, however, I never really thought I would be in the art world. But something just moved me right before my senior year of high school: I was like, “I want to go to art school.” So I started taking every art class I could take, in school and outside of school, pulled my portfolio together, and got into Cornish College of the Arts.
By Anya Shukla “I love music,” Grae Violett said a few minutes into our interview. “You can have two people who hate each other and disagree on everything, but they might still have the same favorite song.” A mix of thoughtfulness and introspection, that sentence embodies Violett herself: a talented singer/songwriter/poet whose work deals with topics of identity and belonging.  Grae Violett “I’ve been doing art for forever—music was always around me,” Violett noted. Her earliest memory is of singing along to Neyo and Maroon Five in the car, and her parents, who are “not musically inclined, but really like music,” often took her to concerts and shows. Nevertheless, she only seriously saw herself as a musician after she toured Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts at fourteen: “I realized that I really want to go to this school,” she said. “That gave me a fire to really hone in on my talent and figure out what I want to do.” To learn more, she dove into musical theater and youth arts boards such as Seattle Art Museum’s Teen Arts Group. It was through the latter that she discovered Totem Star, an organization providing music mentorship and accessible studio space for young artists.
 Cut Sleeve Stories, an organization dedicated to supporting queer and questioning pan-Asian youth, has just opened submissions for their zine! Fiction/nonfiction prose, poetry, visual art, photography, and photo essays are all accepted. You can also choose to submit your work anonymously if you'd prefer. Click here to learn more or submit.
Submissions are open through June 24th. |
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